Friday was a long day for Brad Smith and the No. 26 team at Nashville Superspeedway.

However, the team’s hard work putting the finishing touches on Brad’s new speedway car paid off. The day started slow – literally – as the team posted one of the slowest practice times of the field. Qualifying went slightly better, and Brad started the PFG Lester 150 from the 37th spot, taking a provisional.

A combination of new tires, pit strategy, and good old elbow grease, however, paid dividends, allowing the team to deliver a 16th place finish.

Any driver will tell you that a brand new car – even if it’s the best car in the field – takes some getting used to. Friday’s race was no different, and the process was made a little more time-consuming by the radio problems plaguing the team. While Brad could hear his spotter and crew chief fine, no one could hear the driver!
Spotter Mark “Boomer” Vandenboom asked Brad to wave out the window if he wanted to pit under one of the early caution periods.

After the driver was able to communicate to his crew that the car was loose in, four rounds of wedge fixed it right up. Even if Brad had been able to talk, he wouldn’t have had anything to complain about! The team lost two laps to the leaders, one in each of the event’s extended green-flag runs. Once the car was handling well, however, Brad was able to hold his ground and sail home to a 16th place finish – his best-ever at Nashville.

Special thanks go out to Chris Cook, Dan Fraher, Jimmy Andrews, and Randy Hansen for their great work in the pits. We hope to see you guys again sometime!